The Chimera Diaries
by Kohaku-Koneko
Summary: Six and a half years after the D-Reaper, life has long since returned to normal for most of the people on the planet. Arashio Makoto was no exception. He was a normal teenage boy with a normal life, which he has grown bored of. Makoto learns that sometime, life gives you what you want, and you can't always change your mind.


Tokyo was bustling through the night; it paid no attention to the lone girl who glared at its brilliance. She silently sat down on the park's swing, whispering to the winds. "This city… it never was clean enough… But soon enough, I'll fix that…" She began making circles in the mulch beneath her feet. "It's covered in its muck and sin; my… _**children**_ can't live in such an awful place…" the simple thought of it brought a smile to her face. "I'll make it so clean, shining in all this _filth_… I'll make it so, so perfect…" Getting up, she lightly sauntered to the only other person in sight, staring into his lifeless eyes. "So, so perfect…"

* * *

**Chapter 1: The Girl on the Roof**

* * *

The classroom was buzzing, like a hive of bees over a new meadow, only this topic wasn't so pleasant.

"There was another attack last night..."

"I heard that it's all just a cover-up for some secrete government project gone wrong..."

"There were a bunch of strange happenings in Shinjuku seven years ago. Was it the same thing?" - "No one was killed like this..."

"I wonder why they never show the crime scenes..."

This was the usual talk after events like these, the murders in Shibuya, Shinjuku, and Toshima in the recent months.

"...ut do you think, Mako?" Itsuki poked his friend sharply with a pencil, snapping him awake. Makoto kicked his friend for his efforts.

"Ugh… what, what?" Makoto grumbled. He ran a hand through his knotted brown hair, mud colored eyes foggy and glaring at the dirty blond a cross from him.

"The murders~ what do you think about them?"

"I think it's not at all my problem." He kicked his friend again "And why the hell did you wake me up?"

Itsuki laughed it off. "Don't be such a spoil sport. It's all in good fun."

"Talking about murder is your idea of fun? That should be more surprising."

"Oh, you're no fun." Nothing ever got Itsuki down. That had to be one of the most annoying things about him. "You can't tell me this isn't one of the most exciting things to happen recently."

"I refer to my pervious statement. Now, lemme go back to sleep, idiot" Mako had heard more than enough of "the mysterious killings in Shinjuku" for a life time, they always blamed digimon in the end…

Itsuki was a present bastard though "Now, now. Night time is for sleeping, day time is for gossip, err, school."

"Go be a girl somewhere else. The teacher isn't even here." Kitora-sensei was true to her name, and came in either hung-over or late every other day. It's a miracle she's kept her job. Satogami was trying to get the class to do the morning rituals with less success the usual. Itsuki had started talking again, but Mako paid no attention. He just found it all so… mundane. He would kill for something truly exciting to happen.

A bunch of crashes in the hallway meant the teacher was here, so it was time to listen to the class rep and do morning exercises. How boring.

The day proceeded like any other, with the class rep answering all the questions, the teacher sleeping through last period, Itsuki being joyful over simple things like carrots, Asato quietly staring out the window in front of him, clubs asking Mako to join - the football and book club today, Yasawa asking him about Ai, and Ai being relatively uncaring. By the time school ended, Mako had fallen asleep. Twice. Wasn't his fault he had all this creepy dreams at night. Yawning, he walked out towards home, doing his best to ignore the chatter of his classmates behind him - Asato and Yasawa are his neighbors, Satogami helps them study with the help of Ai, and Itsuki just followed him home every day. Ai was quiet, as usual, and Mako preferred his sister's company over the others. Their mother had enough slippers set out for their guests, as she does every day.

Softly, she says "Kirura-chan, Noka-chan, Mitaru-kun, Itsuki-kun, how nice to see you." Like she does every day. Everyone goes to the TV to watch the movie she had on, but Mako slipped into his room. They were too annoying, too every day. Not like the characters in the manga he read, there was no melon-breasted girl, or angry tsundere, or cute mascot, or even a transfer student in his class. When he was little, the world was such a wonderful place, now it's so monochrome. Speaking of monochrome…

"Now… what was my favorite red headed protagonist doing today?" Mako pulled out his current manga obsession out from under his bed; he'd waited all day to see what Ichigo was going to do next. But he didn't see Itsuki walk in. He did hear him laugh though.

"…Seriously? Tokyo Mew Mew?" Itsuki skillfully dodged the pillow thrown at him, still laughing. "We both know Sailor Moon is the best!"

* * *

The rest of the evening was spent arguing about manga; it didn't stop until Itsuki went home for dinner. The others left had apparently already left. Ai was looking in the direction of Asato's house, she seemed nonchalant, but Mako knew better. Plopping down next to her, he looked at the piece of wall that she was staring at. "What did that poor wall ever do to you?"

"Mako, did Kirura-chan seem… off to you?"

He had to think about it, but nothing came to mind. "Not really… she has been a little quieter lately, but she's always been that way." Ai just shook her head.

"No, she's been paler and thinner, she has this odd look in her eyes, and the way she's been smiling…" She grimaced. "It's just so empty…"

"Didja ask her about it?"

"No." She had a blank look, but she knows she's been bested.

Mako hopped up. "Aaaaand there's your problem. I assume this covers this month's sibling bonding time?"

"Sure. I know you have Clamp to catch up on." Mako almost tripped.

* * *

_He was in _that_ place again. The grass was golden and it had more holes than Swiss cheese. Behind him, a forest full of half dead trees. In front of him, a rusted train track. His sister clung to him, they were both shaking, both small children again. The only sounds were of slowing approaching footsteps, the grass crunching under foot. Neither of them dared make a sound, hoping that the person wouldn't find them. _

_But it did, it always did. _

_The monster looked like a little girl, no more than eleven, but she was _wrong_. Her skin clung to her bones; her clothes had been shredded and hung loosely on her; her muddy knotted hair covered demonic red eyes and a sewn on smile. But the worst of all was the growths on her head. They looked like trees, but they writhed like snakes, a vivid purple liquid dripping from their tips. She staggered as if drunk, but neither of them could move._

_In a split second, she had Ai in one of her spidery hands, dragging closer to the train tracks. Mako screamed at her, pulling at the hem of her shirt, but she batted him away with enough force to knock him back into a tree. His vision became blurry, but he could make out the creature had his sister held down, her head in the middle of the first track. He could feel the train get closer… He yelled, Ai was screaming, and she laughed, but none of it made a sound. The world shook and blurred, but it didn't stop. The girl turned her head towards me, and simply spoke._

"_It's fun, right?"_

_The train passed._

* * *

Mako shot up out of his bed, panting, covered in a cold sweat. He quickly, but quietly, got up and went to his sister's room. He opened the door slightly, and she was there, completely fine. As she always was. He slunk back into his room, and flopped down on to his bed. This wasn't the first time he's had this dream, he's had it for a good five years, but it's been increasingly reoccurring as of late. He felt like banging his head against the wall. There wasn't a reason for these nightmares, no horror movies, or hate for sister, or any manga that was like _that_. Maybe all of this murder talk was getting to his head…

With a sigh, he got up and looked out the window. It faced the Asato's house, which was an exact copy of the Arashio's, his room faced where Kimrura's was. He wondered what if Ai was right, and there was something wrong with her...

No, he thought and shook his head. Ai was always talking about things that only she noticed or saw, she had their parents worried sometimes with the nonsense she came up with, and this was probably just another one of those instances. He closed his eyes and thought of day before all of this crap started with sister. He thought of their purple friend who had broken his promise to stay. He thought of the child with the medusa-tree-horns and why she seemed so familiar. He thought of what could possibly tie all these things together. He didn't even notice that he fell asleep.

* * *

Mako woke to the feeling of something on his head. And it was chirping.

_Oh God. _

He had a bird on his head. That's what you get for sleeping with your head out the window. He shot up, shaking his head and trying to get the bird out of his hair, which was apparently now a _bird's nest_.

It eventually left, but not before leaving scratches all over Mako's face and crapping in his hair. _Well, shit,_ He thought, _literally_. He got up, stretching his aching muscles, sleeping like that was not comfy in any way, shape, or form. It was wicked early; the sun wasn't even up yet, so he wanted to take a quick shower so he wouldn't wake anyone up. The bathroom was across from his sister's room, so he felt like he had to check on her again. Those damn dreams- wait, she's awake.

Mako put his ear to the door to try and hear what she was saying better, but he wished that he hadn't.

She was talking to herself. "Oh I know, I know." Silence. "But…" It was if she was talking to someone, but there wasn't anyone at the same time…

Shaking his head, he went to go take a shower. Ai was smart, and she had a reason for every thing that she did. There had to be a reason for this too.

Right?

* * *

After that, the next day went like the day before, so exact it was almost creepy. The teacher was late, Itsuki kicked Mako awake, no one listened to Satogami, the same people followed him home from school, Itsuki and Mako argued over manga, and he had _that_ dream. He was up panting in his bed, feeling nauseous. He could still feel Ai's blood on him…

He looked out the window, as he seemed to do every night now, as if the sky would suddenly give him an answer to his problems.

He didn't know how long he just sat there, staring at the starless sky, but it felt like an eternity. He knew he should attempt to go back to sleep, but he didn't, couldn't. Hours must have passed before he looked at a clock. It was 4:18. _Shit,_ was all he could think. Tomorrow was going to suck. He put his head back on his pillow, and wished for sleep to come.

And then a pink flash appeared.

His shot up out of bed, staring at the spot where it was on the Asato's roof, and he saw her.

She was the most beautiful thing in the world to him. She looked his height, maybe a little taller. Her long deep red hair was tied into two loose ponytails near her waist; it shone brilliantly in the glow of the city. She had black clothing and a matching mask over her mouth and nose. She had a short sword and a large, covered object on her back. Her shining snow white eyes were focused in something a head of her, something to his left, but he didn't dare take his eyes off her, as if she would disappears if he did. She must have felt his eyes on her because her gaze shifted to him. Her hair covered her right eye. _Why would she cover something so wonderful…?_ In a single swift movement, she was right in front of him, their foreheads almost touching. She removed her mask and spoke one simple thing to him.

"I know you…"

And then she was gone. He shoved his head out his window to see if he could find her again, be she was nowhere to be seen. Mako fell back onto his bead, absolutely mesmerized. She was like a girl from a manga.

Or an Angel.

An Archangel.

* * *

Mako spent the rest of the night staring at the ceiling, thinking about the white-eyed girl. Who was she? How did she know him? Was she some long lost friend that he used to play with at the park until a horrible accident, was she a messenger from a magical organization where he was a candidate for magical powers, or were they lovers in a past life separated by selfish adults? Whatever it was, it must have been fate, he told himself. _Ahhh, this is too cool…_

Mako didn't even acknowledge that the alarm clock went off; he was too far into his fantasies. He did notice when Itsuki started jumping up and down on his bed to get him up half an hour later.

"Ma" Jump. "Ko" Jump. "To" Jump. "A" Jump. "Pu" Jump. "O" Jump. "Shu" Jump. "To" Jump. "Ku" Jump. "Su" Jump. "Ru" Jump. "Ji" Jump. "Kaaaaaaan~" Jum-CRASH.

Mako had kicked his friend of the bed. "Asshole." He kicked him again. "I was up."

Itsuki got up off the ground like it was nothing. "Yeah, but you didn't show up when you were supposed to, and your alarm clock has been going off since before Ai left." That got Mako up.

"Ai already left- what time is it?" He looked at the clock "Shit…" Itsuki just laughed.

* * *

"Wait. So you made us late because of a girl you dreamt about?" They were both late, and had to stand outside of class as a punishment.

"It wasn't a dream! And you just didn't wanna come if I didn't, you could have come by yourself."

"Fine, fine, it wasn't a dream. You just happened to see a beautiful red-haired maiden in the middle of the night and the only thing she said was a cryptic 'I know you'. Yeah, totally not a dream" he shook his head. "Mako, even I find that farfetched. Why would a beautiful girl know you?" He also completely ignored Mako's second question.

"_That's_ what you got out of that."

"We can all dream, Mako~"

"It wasn't- ugh, never mind…" Itsuki was… odd. He always had his head in the clouds, but firmly thought that things like that would never happen, it was just dreams of fool like them. He said that 'he liked to pretend sometimes…' about what, Mako didn't know. "So why did you come and get me?"

Itsuki looked down the hallway, facing away from his friend, he hadn't stopped smiling. "Because."

Mako fought the urge to face-palm. "Thank you, that was so helpful."

Itsuki was quiet for a second, and then laughed. "Maybe one day you'll understand." Mako wanted to kick him again. Itsuki laughed again. "It's nothing, really. Let's just say… I just wanted make sure that… I just wanted to see…" He paused, rubbing the back of his head. "It just gets lonely without you. No one else really likes me."

Mako didn't say anything. He couldn't say anything.

* * *

Once again, the day pasted without much happening. Asato was looking out the window all day with this blank look, it had Mako thinking about what his sister said again. Kitora-sensei was unusually awake today, so work was actually done. Itsuki was his normal self, happy and chipper even when Shinoda and Tanaka started making jokes about the manga he was reading. But, most of all, he was thinking about the girl. How her hair fell around her like a pair of wings, the way she moved like a swan, her face so close to hers…

As he and the others were walking to his house he thought about Asato's odd behavior and decided that he should talk to her, seeing as his sister wasn't doing anything. Asato - Kirura - was slowly walking behind everyone else, her eyes were looking and the ground in front of her feet and her long ebony hair shadowed her face. After Mako got Itsuki to talk to Yukawa about something or another, he slowed down to walk next to her. She didn't seem to notice.

He walked beside her for a few minutes trying to think of something to start with, or for her to start, but they both stayed silent. He eventually decided to throw caution to the wind. "What's wrong with you?" Kirura's head snapped up, and she looked at him like a kicked puppy. "Wait! I meant, um…" He scratched the back of his head. "…Is everything ok, Asato-san?" The hurt look on her face lessened, but didn't go away.

Her voice was soft and slow, like it always was. "When did I… stop being Rura-chan, Makoto-kun?" Rura-chan, it was his old nickname for her. He hasn't called her that in years, why would it be bothering her now?

Mako's face grew hot. "Uh…" He shook his head, hoping to clear it. "Ai said that you've been acting kinda strange lately, and you don't look so well. I-I don't mean that you're not pretty or anything like that! Just that, uh…" He was getting nowhere, and he couldn't figure out why. "Just that you have Ai and I worried…" Kirura stopped, and Mako stopped with her.

She was looking at the sky now. "Do you ever feel like… there's something more out there? A greater purpose?" Her voice was flat, but her gray eyes were filled with determination.

"Wha… what? I don't know what you mean."

"Makoto, have you ever felt like there was something you had to do? As if something was your fate? As if that something was something that you would do no matter the cost? Even if that something would cost as much as it would gain? Would you still be able to do it?"

Visions of a purple imp with a toy gun, a girl on his neighbor's roof passed his mind, and of his sister in the hands of a demon passed by his eyes. "I guess it would matter… what the costs were…" He walked up to her, and tried to see what she was staring so intently at. It seemed to be a telephone pole…

She was quiet for a while. "As an example, would you – could you – kill someone to save someone else?" Mako stumbled back from Kirura, _that_ was not something he would have ever expected.

"Asato...san?"

She looked back him, slightly flustered. "That was to extreme, wasn't it, Makoto-kun? It was just the closest example I could think of…"

Mako gulped. "So have you... found something … like that?"

She smiled, it was joyful yet distraught, then nodded once.

Without even thinking about it, he closed the space in between them, and hugged as tightly as he could. "Don't lose yourself to this. There's nothing worth your life now. Please stop talking like this." _Is there?_ The just stood there for a second before he let go. She still just stood there, with that same smile.

Suddenly she bowed. "I'm sorry." Mako felt like a huge weight was lifted, he could go tell his fretting sister that Asato was fine and – "I can't." And with that, she ran off, leaving Mako standing in complete shock.

"Well, Shit." He finally got out, and began walking home again. When he got there, Kirura was nowhere to be seen, and Itsuki had been waiting like a dog for him to come home. He was his happy self until he saw the look on his friend's face.

"Mako…? Did something happen with Kirura-san?" Mako was quiet; he could feel everyone's eyes on him.

"It's alright, Itsuki. She's just been a little sick."

The study group seemed to buy it, and Ai looked absolutely relieved, but Itsuki wasn't convinced. He just put on a happy face and glommed on to his friend. "Aw, I was hoping for a sappy confection…" He put his head near Mako's ear and whispered "because she's not sick is she? You're not a very good at lying." And then pulled back to eat some of Mrs. Arashio's homemade cookies. Mako felt sick.

* * *

He was up for the rest of the night. No matter what he did, he couldn't sleep. He kept looking out his window to the Asato's house. Whether it was to see if Kirura came home, or to see if the ninja girl would come by again, he didn't know. His head was a mess. He wanted to say that Kirura's speech was pure nonsense, but he felt that way about this mystery girl didn't he? He wouldn't kill anyone for her though. The feeling of fate, of something he was meant to do, was there though. Did he have a right to tell her what to do? That was the most he's talked to her in two years…

_Ahhh, I'm getting nowhere!_ Mako fervidly scratched his hair, trying to make sense of the past twenty-four hours. _1: a strange ninja-girl appears on the Asato's roof and claims to know me. 2: I'm almost late for school and Itsuki starts being __**extra **__clingy. 3: Asato is revealed to be obsessed with _something_. 4: Itsuki seems to know this…_ _THIS ISN'T HELPING. _Mako was at a loss. He wondered if Kirura was possibly the ninja girl, but she wasn't tall enough and her face shape was wrong and her voice was different. If only she would just come by again…

But she wouldn't.

* * *

He was tired. By all that was holy, He. Was. Tired. He had spent the last three nights up, hoping to see the girl again, but she had not reappeared. Mako was beginning to wonder if she was just a dream. But desperately wanted to believe she was real, that something exciting was going to happen to him, even if logic said otherwise. And now, he was bloody fucking tired. It amused Itsuki to no end. The last three days had been odd as well. Asato had stopped coming to school, and Ai said that no one at their house was answering the door or picking up the phone. Satogami and Yukawa had stopped coming over, and they both had been avoiding Ai and each other. His sister had been up early in the morning talking to herself again, their parents had called "Ai's special doctors" too. It seemed like they didn't want admit that there was something wrong with Ai sometimes…

"God damnit, it's not that funny." In addition to being exhausted, he was cranky and humiliated, as Itsuki was right.

Itsuki just laughed harder as the train stopped at the Akiba station, as they go there every Sunday. Itsuki worshiped Animate and Comic Toranoana as if they were gods, and as much as Mako hated to admit it, he did a little too. They didn't buy a lot or buy things very often, but it was nice to window shop or hang out with others who loved the same things they did. There weren't a lot of people, or any really, who loved manga and anime like they did, which is why Itsuki was practically dancing as they neared Animate, and he was in full blown Otaku-mode.

"Did you hear that their making a fourth 'Go-Kenki' season? I knew it was popular, but I didn't know it was that popular… Anyhow, did you know Miharu-sensei's doing a manga signing today? Madam C isn't my favorite series, but, still, a manga signed by a real mangaka! I've never been able to get a signed copy of anything! And…" Itsuki must have had a book with all this stuff, Mako couldn't believe that any one person could remember so many things on command, especially things that most people didn't care for. But Itsuki remembered it all. School work was a whole 'nother though.

"You're going to talk yourself to death one of these days."

"How would that even work? Unless…" And he was off again. Mako shook his head, these was no use in trying to make sense of his friend.

Itsuki then let out a small noise of joy, and ran over to a newly opened boba tea place that was across from the anime stores. The lines were long, but Itsuki would have a fit if Mako let, so he went and sat on a bench outside of the store and closed his eyes. He hoped Itsuki remembered to get him a Mocha flavored one this time…

A few minutes later, Itsuki was still in line, and someone sat next to him, but he didn't open his eyes. A few more minutes passed before the person – a girl – spoke. "Are you waiting for someone over at the Boba shop or in the Otaku store?"

Mako snorted. "I wish it was the Otaku store, then I could at least get something for myself. Itsuki and his damn tea."

The girl laughed. "Yeah, my brother is the same way. It's Rin-nii-chan's favorite thing… Well, other than video games."

"Let's pray they don't meet then. We'll never leave." That got her laughing again. It was familiar, awfully familiar.

He opened an eye and saw the girl. The girl from his 'dreams'.

She looked the same, only with some slight changes. Her clothing was normal, just a purple tank top and khaki shorts, her hair was in the same, distinct style, but now it was a bright obnoxious pink - he must of thought it was red in the dark of the night. But the most noticeable difference was that her one shining white eye was now a vivid violet-brown.

After a few moments of stunned silence, Mako shot up out of his seat. "I-it's you!" She looked at him confused, and then a flash of recognition passed across her eyes before they hardened.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Her voice seemed normal, but it held a sharper, colder edge to it now.

"The-the Asato's! You... I… you said that…" he gulped, his throat suddenly dry. "You said that you knew me, a-and then disappeared!" The girl sighed and stood up, facing away from him.

"I have no idea of what you're talking about. You must have me mistaken with someone else." And then she began to walk away, but Mako grabbed her hand.

"You're not very good at lying."

She whipped her head to look at him, glaring. But they just stood there, not further words were spoken by either.

After what seemed like an eternity, someone broke the silence. "Shiuchon~! Shiuchon~! I got the boba, and I remember to get everyone else too." A man in his early twenties approached the two. "You wanted honeydew, ri – Shiuchon?" The girl – Shiuchon, broke off their staring contest to look at the man, who Mako assumed was her older brother. She ripped her hand out his, and walked over to her brother.

"It's nothing, Rin-nii-chan. We need to go." He looked like was going to say something. "Now." With that, she walked off. Rinchei looked back and forth between the two teens several times before running after his sister, yelling for her to wait up. Mako just stood there, watching the space where she had been.

* * *

When Itsuki got back with his and Mako's boba, he found his friend walking in circles and ranting about someone named 'Shiuchon' and about how he was right. Mako wanted to go after the girl, who could have been _anywhere_ by then, and Itsuki wanted to go get his signed manga. Itsuki's whining won over Mako's.

Now, they were on their way home, Itsuki's face practically glued to his sigh copy of Madam C. Makoto just pouted, muttering about the girl, while reading his signed copy of the manga. Both of them were so in their own worlds that they didn't even notice that the other was even there anymore, and they didn't until they reached the Sendagaya station, and Itsuki started following Mako home again. "Itsuki," He started slowly. "Your house is the opposite way." Itsuki stopped skipping behind him.

"Are you suuuuure? I might have been living at your house for the past three months secretly." He sounded like a small child.

Mako couldn't help sigh. "Itsuki, your house is closer and nicer than mine. Why do you follow me home? I should be mooching off you." He knew it was rude, but he was tired; very, very tired. And tonight, he was going to sleep, seeing as the girl – Shiuchon, he reminded himself – wasn't even there, he had no reason to stay up. And there was no sleeping when Itsuki was within a 50 meter radius.

Itsuki didn't stop smiling, but it didn't look right. "Ok." And with that he turned around and left. Mako felt like an ass. A really tired ass.

* * *

The sun had set by time he got home, and apparently his parents were out for dinner, so Ai had ordered pizza. She was sitting on the couch with a blank yet angry look on her face, her feet propped on the dog, so Mako took that as it was 'Sibling bonding time' again. "Ai, what is it now?"

She remained quiet.

Mako sat next to his sister. "Ai?"

Ai bristled. "I saw Kirura today."

"Isn't that a good thing?"

That set her off. "No! It's not! She's…" Ai turned to where her friend's house was. "She said… She said that I should go away… and just stay away…" His sister's face became blank again "I thought that we were friends…"

Mako was silent. He couldn't help but think about their last conversation. _"…have you ever felt like there was something you had to do...No matter the cost?" _He felt sick again. What was the cost she was talking about? He couldn't tell if he wanted to know or not.

"Ai there's somethi-" Suddenly, the lights flickered and then shut off, not just in there house, but for all of the houses several streets around them. "-What? This is odd… is a pole down or something?" Ai looked as surprised as her brother, so she didn't know what was going on either. Their dog begun whimpering, and he climbed onto Ai's lap.

"Mako, I think we have some candles in the kitchen, can you go get some? Tobi will follow me if I go get them, and mom doesn't want him in there." Ai was petting their scaredy-cat dog trying to calm him down, he didn't like change. Mako nodded and got up, trying not to trip over anything in the dark.

As he stumbled into the kitchen, he thought he saw something bright in the Asato's yard, but he put it into the back of his mind and continued to look for the candles. Dammit, where were they… "Hey Ai, where are they anyways?"

"Under the cabinet next to the sink." He knelt down and tried to feel if they were in there, but all her got was some bowls. He saw another flash in the Asato's yard again. It was beginning to creep him out too.

"I'm not finding them. Do we have any flash lights?"

"Yeah, I have one in my bed room. Hold on second." He could hear his sister slowly walk to the stairs and then up them, closely followed by Tobi. Mako sat down on the floor, positively annoyed by how the day's gone. First he gets no sleep, then he meets the girl that he's been dreaming about for the past four days, then he waits forever for Itsuki to get his signed manga, and the power goes out. Damn, this was not his day. But he's snapped out his thoughts by the worst possible thing.

A crash followed girl's blood-curdling scream.

His first thought is his sister. "A-AI!" He runs through the house, tripping over and over, trying to get to her. She comes running down the stairs, panicked, and then run to her brother. "Ai, are you alright!"

"That-that wasn't me! It came from Kirura's room! Mako, s-something's wrong! We have to call the police or, or, or…" She looked around the dark house, and just panicked more. There was no one they could call; the phones would have no power either. Mako tried to stay calm and calm his sister, but _she _was the one who could always keep her head straight in situations like these, he's never seen her so freaked out before…

"Ai, go over to Ms. Tsurumi house with Tobi, I'll go check on Kirura, ok? I'm sure she fell in the dark, and please don't cry everything's going to be fine!" Ai didn't look at all reassured, but nodded, her calm demeanor coming back. She called the dog and went out the front door, before coming back in to hand him the flashlight, then leaving once more.

Mako carefully walked back into the kitchen to grab one of his mother's knives, as he wasn't so sure that Kirura just fell… He picked one of the smaller ones and put it in his pocket. _Just in case,_ He told himself as he walked over to the neighboring house, _just in case…_

It was dark out, and even thought the lights of the city made it possible to see, it still felt like he was in pitch black as he slowly went to knock on the Asato's door. Once, twice, three times he knocked on their door, but the only response was an echo. He crept over to the nearest window, but all of the shades had been drawn. It all just felt wrong, his mind was screaming at him to run away, but he couldn't he promised Ai that he'd check on Kirura, and he never broke his promises.

He fondled the knife in his pocket for a few seconds, before positioning it in front of a window, one that had been cracked for a few months. He had to; Asato could be hurt or worse… He held the knife there for a few more seconds before ramming it into the window as hard as he could, holding his left hand over his face. The window shattered, glass shards flying everywhere, several of them sticking into his hands and arms. It hurt, but not too much, so he just continued and cleared the window sill of any remaining shard, before climbing into the house.

The Asato's house was the same as his, only with different furniture and red walls. Kirura's mother repainted them ever year, Ai said. They were blue last time he was in the house. Everything was always in its place, always so perfect. But the scary part was, there was usually music on constantly, but now it was silent.

There didn't seem to be anyone on the first floor, but he checked any ways. All her found was some spilt soup or juice soaking into the carpets and her small yapper dog sleeping quietly before the flashlight's battery died. Mako felt his stomach do flips.

He heard a thud in the room above him and a strange, gurgling laugh. His heart stopped. _Kirura...?_

He was tempted to run up the stairs, but he didn't want to alert the… intruder… to him being there. So, as slowly as he could manage, he walked up the stairs. There was almost no visibility, and there was something wet on the floor, both the liquid and the light coming from the top of the stairs. His heart was in his throat and his legs were frozen, but he had to go on.

When he got to the top, the first thing he noticed were two flashes of pink, shortly by the stench, it made him want to puke. The room was dark, he could barely see his hands in front of him, but he could see one barely lit candle in the corner of the room, and it illuminated that all of the upstairs wall had been knock down in the fight between the two pink blurs, and that about ten people were siting against the back wall, unmoving in a pool of something dark that he didn't want to think about; on the ceiling hung pink streamers dripping the same dark liquid, there was so much of it that the wall were dyed the color; he couldn't see the left wall as it was too dark, but something equally disturbing must have been there as well. Mako was frozen to the spot he where he stood, his lunch and dinner threating to reappear. He couldn't tell where Kirura was either, and he had the sinking feeling that she was one of the bodies lined up against the wall.

An eternity passed. And then another, but the world was stuck in that awful place. For a moment, the two pink blurs slowed down and he could see what they were.

The first was a girl covered in black and red – blood red, she was covered in blood and he couldn't tell if it was hers or not, not that it mattered much. She had a short sword in one hand, the other holding her side. He realized who it was; it was the ninja girl, the girl from the Boba shop. Shiuchon.

The other was a monster straight from hell. It had a lithe body covered in dull pink blisters and rashes and scales. It had gray hair that fell like a waterfall to the floor, the ends covered in blood as well. The creature had long claws and spidery fingers that looked half a meter long, and looked like needle filled with yet more blood and covered with chunks of... _something_. But the worst part was it tail. It had to be the length of the beast and twice as thick, and adorning its tail was three blade-like horns, and it was riddled with holes, as if it were decaying.

The world was in slow motion, with Shiuchon making haphazard swipes at the beast, and with it relentlessly attacking her, the battle was surely favor of the demon. A few seconds later, the monster struck a brutal blow, sending the girl crashing into a wall by Makoto. He wondered where the screams were coming from, and then he realized that they were coming from him.

Slowly the creature turned to him, and then stopped. "Makoto-kun?" The world shattered around him.

In front of him, was his childhood friend, dripping in blood and guts, a menacing looking tail growing from her back, surrounded by bodies, with a simple smile on her face. "I'm so glad... that you could make it…" Kirura walked closer to him. "I knew you would come in the end. The others said you wouldn't, that you'd never come play with me. But they were wrong, wrong, wrong~! You're here; you always come when someone needs you…" At this point Mako began to walk backwards, fear gripping at his heart. "That awful girl was here again, she doesn't like to play with me. All she was wrestle with me, and tell me to stop playing with my toys…" Her smile grew wider, and Mako froze. "But you're not mean like that… are you? Ma-ko-to-kuuun?" She threw her arms around her neck, and hugged him tightly. "Nee… don't you wanna see... my art?"

With a flick of something, several other candles lit around the room, reveling it full glory.

There were thirteen bodies up against the wall, each one of them maimed in a horrific different way, but all of them had a smile sewn or cut into their faces. Some of them he could vaguely recognize, like the old man that lived above the bakers', and the woman who fed the birds at the park on Thursdays, and at the very end, Mrs. Asato herself. He couldn't look, tears burned his eyes, and he was beginning to choke on the vomit that wouldn't come up. In the left of the room, a body hung over a blood filled tub, dripping it's own out. The walls had pink, fleshy flowers tacked all over the wall, with meaty garlands hanging between them. The walls were stained a pink and red. He thought he was going to faint.

"It's beautiful… right? These are… just for you…" Kirura snuggle him closer. "Which is your favorite?"

Mako could barely get the words out of his mouth. "W-when… why…?"

Kirura was making happy purring sounds. "The first was… two months ago? But that one wasn't pretty, the mistress hadn't shown me how to make art yet… And these aren't all of them, what would the others eat?" At that point, Mako did throw up, he threw up until he had nothing left to, and then he just dry heaved. Kirura didn't seem to mind. "Oh, don't be so sad… Digimon like Sunflowmon did it all the time, and they just got stronger and stronger… and if digimon can why can't we?" He felt something we on his shoulder. "So the mistress says that if we keep doing this, then we'll become stronger, and then we'll fix the world…"

Mako was dizzy. His mind was going blank. This wasn't happening. Asato wasn't asking him to join her on a cannibalism based world take over. No no no no no no NO…

He looked over to where the other girl was passed out, bleeding out. He thought about what Asato said, and come to his decision. "Yes."

Kirura looked ecstatic. "Oh, thank you, thank you, Makoto-kun! I -" She paused feeling something in her stomach.

Mako's knife was stuck in it. "I guess I could kill someone to save someone else." Makoto pulled the knife out and Kirura stumbled backwards in shock. He walked back up to her and positioned the knife above her head. "I'm sorry, Rura-chan."

Her smile never left her face. "I love you, Mako-" And then the blade was between her eyes, and she was gone.

Asato – Asato's corpse – fell to the ground with a light thump, but Mako stood still, completely unmoving, until exhaustion got the better of him and he tumbled to the ground. He was barely conscious; the only thing in his head was that he had just killed one of his closest and oldest friends. He killed her. He, Arashio Mako, had killed Asato Kirura.

He didn't know how long he laid there, but it seemed like forever. After some time, he got himself off the floor to go check on the other girl. She was up, and staring at him.

"You killed her."

"I know." He held a hand out and helped her up. She had stopped bleeding at some point.

"She loved you."

Mako gulped, feeling dizzy again. "I know." Shiuchon walked over to Asato looked into her dead eyes. Mako walked up next to her.

"I'm sorry. You shouldn't have seen this." Her voice was flat.

"No one should have."

"Then I suppose that you'll forgive me then."

Mako back over to the girl. "For what?"

"For this."

Suddenly, she kicked him in the stomach with more strength than anyone could have guessed. He keeled over, out of breath, and then she grabbed him and dragged him by his neck over to where the tub of blood was before throwing him in.

Mako panicked, flailing and kicking trying to get out of her iron grip, but with no success. The world became blurry, and Mako just kicked harder, he didn't want to die, not now. But the girl was stronger and he grew tired and then the world faded before him. "I'm sorry, Makoto-kun Good night." At that point, Makoto let himself go into the darkness.

* * *

Once the boy had stopped moving completely, Shiuchon let go. She was soaked in blood from head to toe, and she wasn't even able to do her job by herself this time… she got a bystander involved, and she couldn't leave a witness, the higher-ups would have her head. But she wasn't lying when she said that he looked familiar…

The name suddenly clicked. This... This could work...

Flipping open her phone, she called the one person who could do it. A tired female voice picked up. "Hello?"

"Reika, it's Shiuchon. Get Yamaki, it he'll want to hear this." Yes, this could work…

* * *

**AN:**

So, uh, yeah. I don't know what to say about this, except that I hope you keep reading this, it makes sense eventually, I swear!

... the ending feels rushed...


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